We caught up with Lynn Hughes, Buyer at Eden Facades, to talk about her role, her experience within the industry and why she would have no hesitation in recommending a career in construction to her granddaughter.

What exactly does your role involve?

Much of my work is done at the beginning of a job when we need to know what materials we’re going to be using, and often that can mean being quite technically involved. It’s a busy job, managing lots of moving parts in terms of ordering, buying, logistics, and co-ordination, so it’s very important to understand what to prioritise on a day-to-day basis.

How long have you worked in construction?

I started working with Eden Facades in 2017, but I have been in the industry since the early 1990s, working for construction and manufacturing firms.

What were some of the challenges you faced when you started out?

Even as recently as the 1990s, women didn’t tend to get as involved in the technical side of the job; a woman’s place was very much seen as either on site doing the admin, or in the office answering the phone.

For a number of years, I worked for a manufacturing firm, which had a large trade counter; workers would come in from sites to pick up fixings or to get something manufactured.  On more than a few occasions, (male) customers would insist they needed speak to one of my male colleagues rather than let me help them, and then because I had more knowledge or technical expertise than my colleague I would be involved anyway.

Unfortunately, the general lack of female representation within the industry, from senior roles down to advertisements in the trade press, has resulted in women being less inclined to look at construction as an attractive sector to pursue as a career.

Do you feel those issues have changed? 

The number of women holding senior roles within the industry is still relatively small, and unfortunately discrimination does still happen, but things are slowly changing. I’ve seen an improvement around women being taken on their merits, not just as lip service to ‘diversity’, and I feel there are more options open to women in construction than there were even as recently as ten years ago.

How do you think women can be encouraged to see construction as a great field to work in? 

There needs to be more education for women about the industry at school and university. We should be actively encouraging women to do more of what were traditionally thought of as ‘male dominated’ subjects – engineering, for example, and we all need to be more proactive in finding ways to promote careers within construction to women.

Women working within the industry do tend to be desk-based, but even site management, which has very much been perceived as a male culture, is changing. Site Managers might still pick up the tools occasionally, but the role is increasingly less about brute force and more about the management, logistics, and technical side of things.

As processes become more digital and reliant on technology, as well as more inclusive, I think we should see more women entering the industry, with improvements in their progression.

What advice would you give to women considering working in construction? 

We’re definitely starting to see more women in the workforce, and I would absolutely encourage my 12-year-old granddaughter to look at construction as a career option.

As a sector it’s very interesting, it’s fast-paced at times and no two days are ever the same. Whether you’re involved with sales, on site, or estimating, it’s never boring – and of course, it can be very challenging!

Our commitment

Tony Hill, Managing Director at Eden Facades comments: “The industry is changing, and we’re proud to be part of it.  At Eden Facades, we’re committed to the continual development of our whole team, and to providing an environment that offers greater equality and enables women to support their chosen career path.”

[1] https://www.willmottdixon.co.uk/blog/women-in-construction

To find out more about how we work, get in touch on 01268 744199, or email office@edenfacades.co.uk